Monday, September 3, 2007

The best build-a-figures

For the toy enthusiasts in us...doubly so if they like Legos or building toys from the ground up!

FIVE FOR FRIDAY: THE BEST BUILD-A-FIGURESAug. 31, 2007: As Marvel Toys’ Legendary Comic Book Heroes explode onto the scene, we rank the greatest build-a-figures ever made

By Zach Oat

Posted August 31, 2007 3:00 PM

A few years ago, if someone had told us that one day there’d be Marvel Legends-style figures based on such obscure (but cool) comic book characters like Ripclaw, Madman and the Savage Dragon, we would have told them they were crazy. But we would have dreamed about those figures when we went to sleep. Well, sometimes dreams do come true, because Marvel Toys (formerly Toy Biz) has created detailed, super-poseable figures of independent comics characters, complete with a giant figure of Pitt that you can put together if you buy the entire first series! (Series 2 builds Monkeyman, of Monkeyman and O’Brien.) To celebrate, we’re calling out the greatest build-a-figures of all time!

5. SentinelMarvel Legends Series 10, Toy BizSure, there had been Sentinel figures before, but with their stiff arms and pop-out feet, they were little more than jungle gyms for the old X-Men toys to climb on and knock over. Not only did Toy Biz manage to make the Marvel Legends version of this mutant-hunting robot even taller, it also made him super-poseable, with articulated fingers and bendy mutant-grabbing tentacles. Plus, he’s one of the evilest-looking robots we’ve ever seen.

4. GalactusMarvel Legends Series 9, Toy BizRemember what we said about the old Sentinel? Well, the old Galactus wasn’t much better. That one actually had a voice chip in it that growled “I hunger,” and played some sound effects, but the Devourer of Worlds was still stiff as a board. Toy Biz’s Galactus not only had an amazing head sculpt (complete with square pupils!), it was just as articulated as the company’s Sentinel—if you don’t count the constraining skirt. Bonus points for being so shiny.

3. DevastatorTransformers: Generation 1, HasbroYou remember this guy—he was the dreadnought of destruction who fought for the Decepticons…which is ironic, since he was made out of construction vehicles. What kind of racket is that? Knock stuff down, then rebuild it for cash? Anyway, while the figure was a little rickety, the six poison-green trucks that merged to form Devastator could each transform into a small robot on their own, making this build-a-figure 13 toys in one!

2. Giant-ManMarvel Legends Wal-Mart Wave, Toy BizAs cool as it was to get a big Sentinel and Galactus to fight, nothing beats a big hero. Giant-Man has been a staple of the Avengers since the early 1960s, and none of his previous toys ever passed muster. They were all too small! This bad boy is more than twice the height of any of his teammates, making him the guy you want on your team when you have to face the combined forces of Galactus, a dinosaur and the family dog. Have at thee, Sparky!

1. Voltron Masterpiece EditionVoltron, ToynamiHe may have technically been the third Voltron, but he was No. 1 in our hearts. Made up of five robotic lions, this giant robot was way cooler than his vehicle and gladiator counterparts, and he could split up into his component cats with ease. But it was in his combined robot form that he could form blazing sword and slice giant monsters to pieces! Well, not really, since it was just a cartoon, but the original, hefty die-cast toy sometimes made you feel that way, and Toynami’s more-poseable remake takes the lions to a whole new level.

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Comic book geek extraordinaire at your service! As my friends always take great pleasure in reminding me: I'm a pop culture geek and a child of the 80s with too much useless information in my head. Now kneel before Zod!